Collapsible baby trainer



y 12, 1955 L. NIKA El'AL COLLAPSIBLE BABY TRAINER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 2, 1950 Aiforney INVENTORS 100/5 /V//(4 624/55 4% /V/A/7 July 12, 1955 NIKA ETAL COLLAPSIBLE BABY TRAINER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 2, 1950 INVENTORS (/4; MA?! 62/1/25 4% Mm Afiorn ey July 12, 1955 1. NlKA E.TAL

COLLAPSIBLE BABY TRAINER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 2, 1950 JNVENTORS [00/5 V//\ ,4 BY (TM/4: M/V/AA Ailzuylay 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 W m .m H m m w M M a 0 PHHH NHHHFNH HIM I g lli| M 7 lulu 4 Z a W Filed Sept. 2, 1950 July 12, 1955 L. NIKA ET AL 2,712,653

COLLAPSIBLE BABY TRAINER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS.

Z 0111;)' M701 BY CLAIRE [VIII/ 1 WZW ATTORNEY United States Patent COLLAPSIBLE BABY TRAINER Louis Nika and Claire M. Nika, also known as Peggy C. Nika, Plainfield, N. 1., assignors to Jiffy Products, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 2, 1950, Serial No. 183,061

11 Claims. (Cl. 4-239) The present invention relates to a baby trainer and, more particularly, to a portable, collapsible baby trainer that is adapted to fit over the standard size toilet seat of the conventional toilet.

The present invention is a continuation-in-part of our copending application, Serial No. 72,614, filed January 25, 1949, now abandoned.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide an improved portable baby trainer which is characterized by compactness of construction, maximum facility in use and low manufacturing cost.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a baby trainer which can remain attached indefinitely to the usual pivot rod of the regular seat of a toilet bowl and can be readily swung out of the way when not in use, so that it may rest, for example, against the wall of the bathroom, to permit the regular seat to be used, and hence the need for removal of the trainer after every use is obviated. Further objects of the invention are to provide a collapsible baby trainer having back and side walls which can be folded down to flat, compact condition and which automatically opens quickly to the operative position of the parts upon lifting of the topmost part or parts from collapsed condition; to provide a collapsible baby trainer wherein the side walls are under the action of springs which urge them into the upright operative position and wherein the side walls become automatically locked in such position; to provide means for attaching the trainer to the pivot rod of toilet bowls, which means are articulated and of such construction as to enable the trainer to fit nonstandard bowls; to provide a trainer wherein the side wall structure and back wall structure lie one on top of the other, or vice versa, in the collapsed condition, and wherein the parts are so constructed that, in such collapsed condition, cooperating guiding surfaces remain in operative registry so that upon manual lifting of the overlying structure through only a small angle, the underlying structure can begin to rise under spring action and, if desired, cam the overlying structure automatically into erect position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for attaching the trainer to the pivot rods of toilet bowls which require no tools and can be manipulated by a mechanically non-skilled person.

A further object of the invention is to provide a baby trainer which is extremely neat and simple in appearance and construction, can be made of molded plastic material and can easily be kept clean.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following more detailed description thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a baby trainer embodying the instant invention in the collapsed position;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the collapsed apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the baby trainer in the open or erected position;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 3; v

Fig. 5 is a side view of the erected structure, partly in section;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section taken along the line 66 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a side view of the trainer in the collapsed position, and swung to out-of-use position;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged plan view of the securing device and hinge;

Fig. 9 is a side view thereof with the back removed; while Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the deflector.

Fig. 11 shows a modification in which the back wall is collapsed first and the side walls then collapsed thereover;

Fig. 12 is a view from the front of the baby trainer of Fig. 11 in erected position, the side walls being shown also in collapsed position to illustrate the position of the holding latch;

Fig. 13 is a side view of the trainer with the parts in erected condition;

Fig. 14 is a side view corresponding to Fig. 13 but showing the parts in collapsed position;

Fig. 15 is an enlarged detail showing the latching device for holding the collapsed walls in position;

Fig. 16 is a detail showing the manner of mounting the springs which actuate the side walls and is taken along the line 16-16 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 17 is a similar View showing the mounting of the springs for the back wall and is taken along the line 1717 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 18 is an enlarged detail showing the mechanism for mounting the trainer on the pivot rod of the regular toilet seat;

Fig. 19 is a view taken along the line 19-19 of Fig. 18; while Figs. 20 and 21 show different forms of construction and mounting for the deflector.

The baby trainer is comprised generally of the seat member 1, the back 21 and'the side walls 24, which can all be made of molded plastic material. The seat 1 of the trainer is substantially oval in shape and has a centrally located approximately circular opening 2. Cut out of the seat in the front part of the opening 2, is a rectangular recess 3 for'a purpose to be explained hereinafter. The seat 1 is curvilinear in cross-section and has a depending curved flange 4 (Fig. 5) located around the edges of the opening 2.

Extending from the rear of the seat is a projection 5 (Figs. 3 and 9) and rigidly secured thereto is a U-shaped hinge plate 6, which maybe of metal and whose arms fit into recesses 7 in the underside of projection 5 and to which the fastening clamp arms'9 and 10 are hingedly connected at 8. The clamp arms 9 and 10 have their ends bent to form jaws 11. The arms 9 and 16 are long enough to enable the baby trainer to be swung up. and back beyond the vertical into the out-of-thevay position shown in Fig. 7. A resilient wire is so bent that one end forms the hinge pin 12 and the other end forms a latching arm 13 (see Figs. 8 and 9) engaging" under the hook-like projection 15 of a lug 14 rigidly secured to the plate 10. The lug passes through an open-" ing 16 in plate 9, and projects above the same when the arms 9 and 10 are in the closed or operative position shown in solid lines in Fig. 9. To attach the baby trainer to a toilet bowl 17, the jaws 11 are placed around the pivot rod 18 for the standard toilet seat 19. The latch arm 13 is then snapped under the projection 15 on lug 14; the curved portion 20 of the resilient wire acts as a spring and firmly holds the arm 13 against the lug 14. By this articulated construction, allowance is made for variations in the position of the'pivot rod 18 and the sufiicient to enable the back to overlie the folded-down.v

sides in the collapsed condition of the trainer, as will be explained below.

Locatedon both sides of the seat 1 are projections 23 to which side walls or arms 24 are hingedly connected by hinge pins 25. Surrounding each hinge pin 25 is a coil spring 26 having extending end portions 27 and 28. The end portion 27 of each spring engages and is anchored in a notch 29 in the seat 1, while the portion 28 is anchored in-notch 39 in the sidewall 24. The coil springs 26 thus act to urge the walls 24 away from the seat 1, and thus bias the side walls to the erected position. The walls 24 have horizontal arm rests 24' at their upper edges to present an extended surface for the comfort of the infant when his arms rest thereon,

Located in the back 21 are arcuate slots 31, which are provided with lateral extensions at their lower ends, as

shown at 32. The rear portion 33 of each side Wall is of reduced width and is notched at 34 so that such portions can fit into and interlock with the slots 31, thereby providing a slotted or tongue-and-groove connection. Detents or pawls 35 are located in recesses 36 in the back 21 and are loosely pivoted at 37 to the back. When the back 21 is in the vertical position shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, the detents 35 will rotate by gravityabout pivot 37 until they rest against the lower edge of recess 36 and they will then act as a catch to hold the walls 24 in their open or erected position.

A deflector 33, shown in Fig. 10, may form a permanent part of our improved trainer and may be placed.

into the operative position, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, when the baby trainer is to be used by a male infant, or in the inoperative position as shown in Fig. i, when the baby trainer is to be used by a female infant. The deflector is of rectangular shape and has a cut-out portion 39 in one of its sides, and is provided with ribs 40 on two sides adjacent to the cut-out portion 39. The ribs 443 terminate about half way down the side in laterally extending lugs 41, and preferably gradually increase in width toward such lugs. Tapered rabbets or depressions 43, located in the seat 1, at the sides of the rectangulznopening 3, are adapted to receive the ribs 40 when the deflector 38 is lying fiush with the seat in its inoperative position (Fig. l Ledges 44 at the bottom of the vertical side walls of the recess 3 cooperate in supporting the deflector.

38 in this position. Vertical slots 45 are also located in the side walls of the rectangular opening 3 and are adapted to receive and guide the ribs llwhen the deflector is placed in the operative position (Fig. 3) and the lugs 41 acting as stops and bearing against the top of the seat to properly position the deflector 38'. In the operative position the cut-out 39 is at the bottom and faces inwardly.

To collapse the baby trainer from the open position shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, the detents 35 are lifted until they clear the extensions 33 of the side walls 24. The walls 24 are then swung down against the resistance of the coil springs 26, about the hinge pins 25, their extensions 33 moving along slots 31 in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 4. When the arms 24 are completely collapsed so that they lie parallel with the seat 1, their rear extensions 33 Will not present any obstacle to the rotation of the back 21 around the hinge pin 22 in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 5, since the end portions of the extensions 33 will then lie in the enlargements 32 of the slots .31. The back 21 is then folded down' until itlies parallel with the seat 1, and the baby trainer is then in the collapsed position shown in Figs.

4 l and 2. in the collapsed condition, the back prevents upward movement of the side walls by their springs. trainer can now be swung about the hinge pin 12 into the out-of-the-way position shown in Fig. 7.

To open the baby trainer from the collapsed position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the back 21 is rotated from the horizontal condition about hinge pin 22 to the vertical position. In this position the slots 31 directly overlie the notches or grooves in the extreme end portions of the walls 24, and under the action of coil springs 26 the walls will automatically snap up into the vertical position. When the walls 24 come into contact with the detents 35 they will lift them up and as soon as they pass the detents the latter will drop down, latching the walls securely in the vertical position.

It will be understood that the projections 5 and 23, along with the front portion 1' of the seat 1, extend r beyond the opening in a standard size toilet seat and act cover can be folded down over it and lie fiat upon it.

' on the hinge 12, past the vertical plane passing throughas supports for the baby trainer.

Openings 42 are provided in the front upper corners of the walls 24 for receiving a strap which may thus extend across the front of the trainer to prevent the infant tom falling forward out of the trainer, and to'prevent the infant from climbing out by himself.

tion of the infants seat forwardly of the normal hinge rod 18 of a toilet bowl, the collapsed seat can be swung such hinge and rest against the cover of the regular seat or against the wall of the bathroom, as shown in Fig. 7,

or against any other stop member, the angle of inclination of the collapsed seat being sufficiently great to insure against its accidentally falling forward. The attachment can thus be permanently secured to the rod 13, and can be easily swung out of the way when not in use. From the position shown in Fig. 7, it can be quickly lowered to operative position, and with the aid of the springs can be quickly and semi-automatically brought to the erected condition.

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that in the collapsed position of the parts the shoulder portions 21a, providing for the enlargement of the slots 31 and 32, directly overlie 2;. the rear portions 33:; of the side walls, such area of contact being so close to the pivot or hinge pin 22 of the back wall that very little leverage is available for the springs of the side walls to act on the collapsed back wall, with the result that the weight of the back wall is' sufficient to overcome the spring force acting thereon at such small leverage. As the back wall is manually raised from the horizontal position, the side Walls rise slightly under the action of their springs and keep in engagement with the shoulders 21a until such shoulders overlie the, slots 34,

whereupon the side walls spring quickly into the vertical position.

In the practical use of our improved baby trainer. the parent or nurse, in moving the trainer to inoperative position, will usually grasp the collapsed structure be.

tween her lingers and tilt it rearwardly until it rests either against the normal cover for the adult seat or against the bathroom wall. In such position, the back wall is in inclined position, so that the wide walls tend to cam. the

back wall toward erect position. When the seat is lowered the back wall does not follow the seat, and when the latter is at approximately a 45 angle to the horizontal, the slots 34 of the side Walls will be in registry M with the shoulders 21a and the side walls will then fly to erect condition, so that by the time that the infant seat rests upon the. regular seat, the trainer is ready for use.

without further manipulation.

In the form of the invention illustratediufigs. 11 to 19, the side and back walls, as in the embodiment de- The scribed above, remain permanently interlocked 'so that the parts cannot be disengaged by accident orby a mischievous child and thus rendered inoperative, so that danger of the childs falling from the seat is eliminated. In contradistinction to the form of the invention above described, the embodiment about to be described is so constructed that the back wall is collapsed first and the side walls then collapsed thereover. The wallsvare preferably all spring-loaded so as to be biased toward the erected condition, and to keep the collapsed walls from opening, a latch member is provided to keep them in the collapsed condition.

Referring to Fig. 13, one of the side walls is shown at 100, while the back wall is indicated at 101. The latter is pivoted upon a hinge pin or bolt 102 passing through an enlargement 103 at the rear of the seat. The side walls are pivoted upon hinge pins 104 passing through bosses 105 at sides of the seat, the side walls having two depending apertured lugs 106 which fit upon opposite sides of the boss and receive the common hinge pin 104.

Secured to the sides of the back wall 101 are headed pins or rivets 107, the stems of which pass through arcuate slots 108 in the side walls, such slots having the axis of the hinge pin 102 of the back wall as a center. The slots 108 terminate in an enlargement 109 which is similar in function to the enlargement 32 of Fig. 4. The rear wall is biased to erect position by a spring 110 which is coiled around the hinge pin 102 (Fig. 17) with its free ends bearing against the top of the seat and the front face of the back wall. The side walls are preferably also provided with springs urging them into operative position, such springs being shown at 111 in Fig. 16.

It will be apparent from Fig. 13 that the back and side walls are so interlocked that they cannot be disengaged from each other in the erected position. The parts are collapsed by first tilting the back wall on its hinge pin into the horizontal position shown in Figs. 11, 13 and 14. The side walls are then tilted downwardly until they overlie the back Wall, as indicated in Figs. 11 and 14. Where the side walls are spring-biased, we prevent their flying into upright position by means of a latch member which is secured to the back wall and extends from the rear surface thereof, as indicated in Figs. ll, l3, l4 and 15. The latch may consist of a headed bolt 112 anchored in the back wall and passing through a keeper 113 rotatably mounted thereon, a spring 114 being seated in a recess in the keeper in position between the head of the bolt and the bottom of the recess. When the back wall is brought to horizontal, collapsed position the keeper 113 lies along the longitudinal axis of the seat. The height of the side walls is so determined that in the collapsed position the upper edges of the side walls clear the socket piece 113. After the parts have been collapsed, the keeper is lifted against the action of the spring 114 and rotated through 90 into the position shown in Figs. 11 and 15.

It will be evident from the foregoing that upon rotation of the keeper through 90 fromthe position shown in Fig. 11 and into the position shown in Fig; 13, the side and back Walls will open automatically under the actions of their springs. It will be noted that also in the collapsed position of the parts the side and back walls remain in interlocking position, with the slots 108 in registry with the pins 107. For this reason, it is impossible to allow the side walls to rise from collapsed position without at the same time causing the pins of the back wall to rise within the enlargement 109 and quickly to move along the slots 108 as soon as the side walls have reached the approximately 90 position. The construction is thus such that neither the side wall structure nor the back wall structure can be separated one from the other and rendered inoperative.

To mount the trainer upon the regular toilet bowl, we provide a pair of spring plates 115 which are perforated at one end to be received on the hinge pin 102 of the back wall and are held in place by nuts 102a. The plates are bent as indicated at 116 in Fig. 18 to increase their spring action and at their outer ends are provided with apertures 117 by means of which they can be slipped over the head of the nuts 118 threaded on the normal hinge pin of the cover of the adult seat. If desired, the plates 115 can be pressed more firmly against the nuts 118 by tightening up a wing nut 119 at the threaded end of a bolt 120 passing through the plates, as shown in Fig. 18. The plates 115 serve as an adapter by means of which the trainer can be secured to diflerent types of toilet bowls.

Figs. 20 and 21 show two further embodiments of a deflector which is pivotally mounted at the front section of the seat. In the form shown in Fig. 20, the deflector 121 is pivoted at-122 upon downwardly extending flanges 123 defining a recess at the front part of the seat. In the raised position of the deflector, it bears against the rear wall 124 of the recess which at the same time acts as a stop. In its inoperative, depressed condition, the deflector rests upon ledges 125 at the bottom of the flanges 123.

Fig. 21 shows a simpler form of deflector 125 which, like that in Fig. 20, is pivotally mounted upon the depending flanges 123, but the pivot pins 127 are so located with respect to the curved corner section 128, that in the depressed, inoperative position shown in dotted lines, the bottom wall of the deflector bears against the rear wall 124 of the seat recess. The pins 127 are located at the center of the arch defining the corner 128, so that in both the depressed and raised positions of the deflector it bears against the wall 124 which limits its swinging movement.

It will be apparent that variations from the specific structure shown herein may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, in place of the illustrated tongue and groove connection between the side walls and back, other sliding connections may be used; for example, the back may be provided with arcuate edges or flanges which are received in corresponding recesses or groove portions of the side walls, or vice versa.

We claim:

1. An infants toilet seat attachment for adult toilet seats having a hinge rod at the rear thereof, comprising an infants seat adapted to rest on the adult seat, rear and side walls pivotally secured to the infants seat and adapted to collapse on the seat in the substantially flat condition, a hinge member provided with means for attaching the same to the hinge rod of the adult seat, and means pivotally connecting the forward edge of said member to the rear portion of the infants seat forwardly of the hinge rod, whereby the collapsed toilet seat attach ment may be swung rearwardly on said pivotal connection to a position past the vertical plane passing through such connection.

2. In a portable, collapsible baby trainer, the combination of an infants size toilet seat, side wall structure and a back wall structure hingedly mounted on said seat and adapted to be collapsed one over the other upon said seat, means for detachably securing the seat to the hinge rod of the adult seat of a toilet bowl, spring means urging the lower of the collapsed structures into erect position, both of said structures being made of plastic sheet material, and one of said structures having channels and the other of said structures having through slots, portions of the channels extending through the slots and engaging the structure containing said slots to hold such structures in interlocked erected relation, and means for guiding the channels into engagement with the slots as the back and side wall structures rise from their collapsed condition.

3. In a portable, collapsible baby trainer, the combination of an infants size toilet seat, a side wall structure and a back wall structure made of molded plastic sheet material, one of such structures being provided with two arcuate edges in the plane of such structure, and the other wall structure having two channels receiving said edges of the other wall structure for interlocking therewith and guiding the one structure by the other, means for guiding the channels into engagement with the said edges as the back and side wall structures rise from their collapsed condition, and spring mechanism urging the lower of said collapsed structures into erected condition.

in a portable collapsible baby-trainer of the character described, the combination of an infant size seat with an opening therein, side arms of plate-like structure hinged to side portions of the seat, a back of platelike structure hinged to the rear portion of said seat, one end of each side arm engaging within an arcuate slotlike through opening in said backa nd terminating in a retaining element engaging the back against the rear surface thereof, the hinge portion of said side arms being provided with a spring acting to urge the side arms upwardly into their extended position, said slot-like openings having enlarged bottom portions for assembly with the ends of said side arms, said enlarged bottom slot portions being of a width sufficient to receive the ends of the side 1 arms, including their retaining elements, whereby said back can be collapsed on top of said side arms in the collapsed position of the latter, saidside arms remaining permanently with their ends in substantial registry with said slot-like openings, so that upon raising of said back, the side arms snap upwardly under the action of th springs.

5. A collapsible baby trainer comprising a seat, aback wall and side walls of plate-like shape and made of rnou1ded plastic 'material, said walls being pivotally mounted on said seat and adapted to be folded down to lie flat upon said seat with the back wall overlying the folded-down side walls, the back wall having arcuate slots extending therethrough, said slots being enlarged at their bottom ends, and the rear portions of the side walls being provided with book members extending through and engaging in said slots, said hook members remaining substantially in interlocking registry with the enlarged portions of said slots in the collapsed condition of the side and back walls, and a spring urging each of the side walls into upright condition, the back acting to hold the side walls against upward pivotal movement under the action of the side springs when it overlies the side walls in the collapsed condition of the trainer.

6. A baby trainer as defined in claim 5, including pivoted locking devices on the rear face of the back wall positioned to drop into engagement with the hook members of the side walls to lock the latter in erected con dition.

7. A collapsible baby trainer comprising a seat, back and side walls hingedly mounted on the seat and collapsible thereon, a plate, a' hinge connecting the rear portion of the seat with the forward portion of the plate and arranged to overlie the opening of an adult toilet seat when the trainer is positioned on the latter, and means for releasably securing the rear portion of the plate to the hinge rod of a toilet bowl whereby the seat with the back and side Walls collapsed thereon may be swung rearwardly on said hinge into an inclined position past the vertical plane passing through the hinge rod.

8. A collapsible baby trainer comprising a seat, a back wall and side walls pivotally attached to said seat and of curved slots adjacent to the sides, and the side walls hav-' ing integral hook members at their rear portions which extend through the slots to the rear of the back wall and receive the curved edges of the slots in the back wall, said back wall being adapted to overlie the side walls in the collapsedcondition of the trainer, said hook members and the bottom curved edges being in substantial registry in the collapsed condition of the trainer, and springs urging the side walls into the erect condition and acting to force the'rear portions of the side walls against the bottom portion of the rear wall, so as to earn the rear wall into upright position after it hasbeen raised a short distance from its collapsed position.

9. A collapsible baby trainer as defined in claim 8, wherein the bottom portion of the rear wall is provided withshoulders against which the rear portions of the side walls bear to urge the rear Wall into upright position.

10. A collapsible baby trainer as defined in claim 2 wherein said guiding means comprises shoulders at the rear portion of the upper of said structures which is engaged bythe lower structure in said collapsed condition, said shoulders being spaced from the pivot of the said upper structure, whereby the lower structure bears against said shoulders and the latter enter the channels of-the collapsed lower structure and enable the latter to'rise to erected condition with the channels engaging in said slots to interlock the structures.

11. In a collapsible baby trainer, the combination of an infants size toilet seat, side wall structure and a back Wall structure hingedly mounted on said seat and adapted to be collapsed 'one over the other upon said seat, means for detachably securing the seat to the hinge rod of the adult seat of a toilet bowl, spring means urging the lower of the collapsed structures into erect position, both of said structures being made of plastic sheet material, and one of said structures having channels and the other of ,said structures including integral, fiat, portions having curved guide edges receivable in the channels, the chan nels passing through to the outer side of the said portions in the erected condition of the trainer and the walls of.

said channels overlying opposite faces of said portions, whereby said structures are held in interlocked erected relation, and means for guidingthe said portions and channels into interlocking engagement as the back and side wall structures rise from theircollapsed condition.

References. Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

